Lindbrook Capital LLC Acquires 325 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 78.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 737 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,698,000 after purchasing an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,386,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,267,000 after purchasing an additional 24,991 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 6.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,918,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,182,000 after buying an additional 166,891 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,966,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,516,000 after buying an additional 67,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,768,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,715,000 after buying an additional 74,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $36.09 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.74. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 66.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.